“The decision is up to Sidney when he’s going to jump back in,” Childress said.

Also, the next-most important player at the position, Bernard Berrian, now has a groin injury. He was limited in practice Friday and is listed as questionable.

Rice remains on the physically unable to perform list _ the Vikings must decide by Saturday afternoon whether to activate him for the Bears game _ so he does not appear on the injury report. But Childress assessed him as questionable.

Rice said he wanted to see how his body feels on Saturday before making a decision on whether he feels confident to complete his comeback from the hip surgery he had in late August. He practiced hard Thursday and reported some soreness Friday, but both Childress and Rice said he hasn’t had any setbacks.

“Don’t have that explosion that I used to have at this point, but it’s getting better. It’s coming back,” Rice said.

Asked how important his long-term health is in his decision to take the field again, Rice said, “It’s huge. Definitely, I want no setbacks, but I also want to help this team as much as I can.”

On the defensive side, cornerback Asher Allen (concussion) and safety Jamarca Sanford (hamstring) have been listed as doubtful. Rookie Chris Cook is expected to return to the starting lineup in Allen’s place.

“It’s been looking that way all week,” Cook said.

It’s been looking all fall like this will be Brett Favre’s final season, though he’s famously changed his mind before. In an interview with the NFL Network this week, Favre hesitated and then answered “no” when asked the burning question about whether he’ll play in 2011.